Silent Nightmare
by Renchikara
Summary: [Sequel to Snow Instead Of Rain] For Rukia, Ichigo and his Hollow, it looks like they're never going to get a dull moment. Especially with a new war beginning. And of course, they have to be at the very centre of it, with a new enemy surfacing who they can't kill.
1. Chapter 1

**And now, a rather long A/N (by my standards) you probably should read:**

**WARNING: Do not read this story unless you have read _Snow Instead Of Rain. _So, to new readers, read that first before this. Or don't bother with any of this if you don't want to. Whatever you like. You don't have to listen to me. Yes, this could be a scheme to get more people to read _Snow Instead Of Rain_... you decide.**

**To my old readers... WELCOME BACK, GUYS! Bet you didn't think a sequel would come so soon! Or even at all! Well, I'm feeling generous and I miss _Snow Instead Of Rain_ so... what the hell.**

**Boy, I'm feeling pretty insane. Two new stories in one day- that's a record, even for me! But the other one's Death Note, not Bleach, so slightly different.**

**To those of you who wonder if I'll ever update my other stories (_Injustice, Will Of The Heart, Hollow Games_ etc.)... I really don't know anymore... :(**

**BAZINGA!**

**Of course I'll update them, as soon as possible. What kind of person do you think I am?!**

* * *

**One**

**05:39 PM**

Rukia is pretty sure that everything isn't supposed to be turquoise.

It's unnerving to open your eyes and find yourself in this situation, and at first she supposes that she probably hasn't actually woken up yet. All around her, bubbles drift above her head, travelling in what she guesses must be the up direction. Which means that she must be vertical.

It also means she's underwater.

She assesses the situation through a slightly unresponsive mind that hasn't quite contemplated the severity of this. She's able to gather that she is in a turquoise liquid, and about a foot and a half away from her is glass, separating her from a world outside. Irritating. She's not fond of being underwater, and even her slow sleepy mind is able to comprehend that people aren't generally able to breathe underwater. Still, it could be worse- she could be drowning.

As she notices all these things, she begins to wonder why she's here. What happened last to bring her to a place like this? Thinking is becoming rather difficult, and that's worrying. She's never usually had a problem before, but every single thought going through her brain is sluggish and hard to interpret. She decides to try and command her body to do anything, and she is able to make a couple of her fingers twitch, but aside from that she gets no result. She is able to decide one thing- she wants answers.

Oh. That's right. It's beginning to seem clear.

Those bastards.

'The specimen seems to be awakening, Sir,' comes a faint robotic voice from the other side of the glass that takes Rukia exactly 4.57 seconds to recognise as Nemu's. A faint blurry outline of the lieutenant appears on through the glass.

'Well, just apply some more anaesthetic,' snaps Mayuri Kurotsuchi. He himself is off beside his desk, staring down at a particular set of data he required not long ago, before the specimen he was examining was sentenced to death, and was finally dealt with after it escaped. But now he has a new object of fixation. And what's better, a toy that was linked with the previous one. He hopes she doesn't break too soon.

'We had better hurry up!' he growls at no one in particular. 'If the other captains here about this, there's no telling how much trouble we'll be in! It won't be too long before they notice one of their lieutenants is missing. I'll bet Byakuya Kuchiki and Jushirô Ukitake will have something to say about this.'

* * *

**07:03 AM**

**[EARLIER THAT DAY]**

Rukia is awoken by another debate. Typical. She's getting pretty sick of this.

'… we're the same person, so how can you be more talented than me?'

'Simple. At the point where our souls split apart, one of us inherited all the intelligence and a load of the other good qualities, and the other one was you.'

'Hey! You're the weaker half, 'cause you weren't able to fight off becoming a Hollow!'

'Ask around and a lot of people will say I'm the stronger one out of the two of us.'

'I beat you!'

'What do you want, a medal?'

'Ha fricking ha.'

'Oh, will you two shut up?' Rukia groans as she slides the door to the cupboard open to glare out at the other two, who stop arguing to look up at her.

'… Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed,' Hollow Ichigo says from his spot on Ichigo's bed.

Rukia clenches her fist angrily. 'You know, some people are trying to sleep!'

'And some people don't give a damn,' Ichigo mutters, earning a kick from the petite Soul Reaper and an unsympathetic string of laughter from his Hollow.

Ichigo glares at his Hollow, who is currently in the form of a cat plushie. 'Doesn't outwitting yourself feel stupid?'

'No, it feels pretty good. And you admit I win this argument?'

'Hell no!'

'I thought as much.'

Rukia sighs. 'Who's turn is it to go to school today?'

At the same time, Ichigo says, 'His,' and Hollow Ichigo says, 'Mine.'

'Over keen, much,' Ichigo says with a scowl.

'I do better than you at school.'

'Oh, now I know you're lying. That's impossible. We both have exactly the same knowledge. The theory that you inherited the brains it utter crap.'

'I've been getting straight As and A*s on every piece of work,' Hollow Ichigo says, and he grins triumphantly when Ichigo's mouth falls open.

'Wh-what?!'

'How does that even make any sense?' Rukia asks. 'You're the same person, so how can one of you be doing better?'

'I concentrate. He stares out the window.'

Rukia laughs and Ichigo's scowl deepens.

'Are you coming to school today?' the Hollow asks.

'No, I've got to report back to the Soul Society,' Rukia answers. 'I'll be back in about two days if I'm lucky, but I do have a lot of paperwork to complete.'

'You should get a Hollow yourself,' Ichigo says with a yawn, stretching out lazily on his bed. 'Then you could take the work in turns. It's way more convenient.'

'I'm not a tool!' the Hollow says indignantly.

* * *

**06:02 PM**

A simple gigai check. That's what Nemu told her when she came back to the Soul Society through a senkaimon and was confronted with the lieutenant of Squad Twelve. Rukia was informed that she was expected to present her gigai to the Department of Research and Development to they could give the gigai a check up and make sure everything was working fine. Rukia's been told she was gullible before regarding how quickly she believed Ichigo's inner Hollow. Still... that turned out well in the end. Sort of.

As she sees Nemu draining the turquoise liquid in the aquarium so she can apply more anaesthetic, Rukia makes a mental note never to trust _anyone_ from Squad Twelve. Ever. No matter what the circumstances. No stupid exeptions.

What the hell was she thinking?!

'Please remain calm,' Nemu says.

'Let me out of here,' Rukia croaks angrily. 'What do you want from me?'

'Now, now, don't start causing any trouble!' Kurotsuchi says, looking up from the papers he was examining. 'This will be over nice and quickly if you cooperate like a good girl.'

'There's nothing about me worth examining. I don't have whatever you want.'

'Except the knowledge that I need about Ichigo's inner Hollow.'

Rukia chokes. 'He's dead.'

'You can tell the rest of the Soul Society that but you can't fool me,' Kurotsuchi cackles. 'He was a part of Ichigo Kurosaki, so you care about what happens to him. You didn't let him die.'

Th... that's n-not true,' Rukia breathes, her voice breaking a little.

'I can access your memories,' Kurotsuchi warns her.

'Wasn't I just... having a simple brain scan or something?' Rukia whispers, remembering the weird metal helmet (not too different from the one they used on Ichigo to extract his Hollow) being placed on her head, and after that... just darkness.

'I was going to access your memories, but I noticed something... uh, rather interesting in your brain... and I couldn't help but investigate further...'

'What are you talking about?' Rukia snaps nervously.

'It seems you are not aware of an anomaly inside your head,' Kurotsuchi says thoughtfully. 'So interesting...'

'There's nothing wrong with my head! Let me go!'

'As I said, cooperate and this will be quicker,' Kurotsuchi replies, shooting her a creepy grin, and Rukia feels something sharp being shot into her right arm. She was so distracted by what the captain was telling her that she didn't notice Nemu approaching her with a needle.

'No...' Rukia whispers fearfully as she feels her eyelids begin to droop in heaviness.

'Don't worry, you very probably won't die,' Kurotsuchi sneers. 'Lieutenant Rukia Kuchiki of Squad Thirteen, sister of Captain Byakuya Kuchiki of Squad Six and heir to the Kuchiki head of family... as if I could get away with letting anything bad happen to you!'

* * *

**This won't be updated as quickly as Snow Instead Of Rain was because I have quite a lot of fan fics on my plate right now. It was a seriously bad idea to start yet another story, but I couldn't resist.**

**I am going to regret this later. Probably. But oh well. It's worth it for nice reviews, neh?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Two**

_A general day in the life of Ichigo Kurosaki-_

_so basically a high school student/Soul Reaper's life in a nutshell_

_(definitely not as cool as it sounds):_

_Some time during the early hours of the morning- kill a Hollow that appears._

_Go back to sleep._

_Wake up._

_Dodge oncoming attack from Goat-Chin._

_Have breakfast._

_Walk to school._

_Get side-tracked and end up killing a Hollow that shows up._

_Run to school._

_Arrive late._

_Apologise._

_Sit through tedious lessons where you can hardly stay awake._

_Fall asleep._

_Wake up and apologise- again._

_Run out of class without any warning because of a Hollow has shown up somewhere._

_Receive a detention when you arrive back._

_Have lunch._

_Leave lunch because a Hollow has turned up._

_Cut detention short because another Hollow._

_Receive another, longer detention for tomorrow because of this._

_Go home._

_Kill approximately another two or three Hollows before you get the chance to go to bed._

_Sleep._

_Repeat this process._

_Try not to mind too much about the occupational hazard of getting injured while fighting Hollows._

Luckily, now, Ichigo can put another thing in between _Sleep _and _Repeat this process_ that says, _take a nice break and only do this every two days because you have an inner Hollow who can do it on rotation with you._

And boy, resting is nice.

'Course, it's not all relaxation. There are a few other alterations he should make to the list, like the fact that he doesn't have to leave lessons to fight Hollows because his own double has got it covered while it's his day off. Your day off school = your day fighting Hollows.

This schedule works for both of them, luckily. Uryu's always boasting about how superior Quincies are to Soul Reapers, so maybe it wouldn't hurt for him to actually kill at least one Hollow instead of leaving it for Ichigo and Hollow Ichigo to do the whole stupid time. And aren't the Soul Reapers stationed here supposed to do something about it? Oh well. No point complaining. Everything else works.

But, Rukia should be back by now; she left two days ago. She really must have an even bigger pile of paperwork than any of them imagined, after all.

* * *

'Hi, Ichigo!' Orihime calls as soon as Hollow Ichigo walks through the classroom door. You'd think that people would be able to distinguish the difference in spiritual pressure between Ichigo and his Hollow but when the latter is in control of the body, it seems almost like the perfect disguise. In fact, the only real flaw is the fact that he has three years 'missing' from his memory. So all he has to really do is avoid talking to people about events that have happened in those three years.

Oh, if only it was that simple.

'Hey Ichigo!' Keigo calls, being annoying as ever. 'You remember when we all went ice-skating and you and Rukia were holding hands! Are you two an item yet?!'

_I am gonna freakin' kill him, _Hollow Ichigo thinks.

_'Hollow. You should probably come back.'_

Hollow Ichigo sighs, wondering why Ichigo needs to use their telepathic messaging system. It turns out that they can use it without one of them having to be in the inner world, which has its ups and downs. Useful for communication. Pretty frustrating when they use it to annoy each other.

_'What?'_

_ 'It's an emergency.'_

_ 'Yeah, that's what you said last time. And I told you, I left the revision guide in the top draw, but did you listen? No.'_

_ 'This is really important, Hollow.'_

_ 'Important enough to skip school?'_

_ 'Yes. Get back here now. If it's not too much trouble.'_

'Hey, uh, Orihime... can you tell the teacher I went home ill?'

'Sure, Ichigo. Is it stomach ache?' Orihime says sympathetically.

'Uh, yeah.'

'I hope you feel better,' she says with a bright smile.

'Thanks.'

'Hey, Ichigo! Where are you going?!' Keigo yells as Hollow Ichigo makes his way towards the door.

'Feel sick. Shut up, Keigo.'

* * *

'What?' Hollow Ichigo snaps as he enters the house. He is greeted with Ichigo launching at him in his Soul Reaper form, quickly covering the Hollow's mouth with his hand. In one quick bust of flashstep, Ichigo takes the Hollow to the top of the stairs where by that point the Hollow is livid with anger.

'Whuh... uh... heh... wuh... thah... fuh...' comes his angry voice from under Ichigo's hand. He pulls the hand off his faces and hisses, this time much clearer, 'What the hell was that for?!'

'Shh!' Ichigo whispers frantically. 'There are Soul Reapers here!'

'And you didn't bother to mention that in the message?!' the Hollow growls.

'Just... go back to plushie form, okay? Renji and Momo have come to tell me something about Rukia.'

'Why? What's wrong with her?'

'I don't know, they haven't told me yet!'

'What do you want me to do, listen on the stairs or something?'

'That's exactly what I expect you to do.'

'No way!' Hollow Ichigo exclaims angrily. 'Last time Renji caught me!'

'I'll keep them distracted. If they do happen to catch a glimpse of you, just act lifeless like a normal plushie.'

'You owe me.'

Soon, he is back in his plushie form and Ichigo has returned to the living room to talk to Renji and Momo. The two Soul Reapers are sitting rather awkwardly on the couch, both in gigais (luckily, wearing ordinary human clothes that don't stand out).

'So, what's this about Rukia?' Ichigo asks.

'Well, you know how she was supposed to return to the Soul Society?' Renji says. 'She never did, as far as we're aware.'

'Well, she definitely travelled through the senkaimon,' Ichigo offers.'I watched her go. She had a hell butterfly, so shouldn't it have taken her directly to the Soul Society? She hasn't gotten lost in the Dangai Precipice World has she?'

'We're not sure,' Momo says worriedly. 'We asked to Department Of Research and Development about it as they monitor the spirit energy in the Dangai but they were really vague with their answer and they just said they'd get back to us.'

'No way,' Ichigo murmurs. 'That's weird, even for them. You don't think... the Cleaner's got her, do you?'

'I doubt it,' Renji replies, looking down. 'I mean, she's a lieutenant and she's really responsible...'

'So the other option is that she's hiding out somewhere in the Soul Society?' Ichigo suggests, hoping that this is the case and that the Cleaner scenario is just a wild and unlikely imagination.

'Yes, but why would she want to?' Momo asks. 'Was she upset or something when she left?'

'No, she was normal,' Ichigo says, thinking back. 'In fact, she was telling me about how she had a lot of paperwork to complete and that she was expecting to return home in two days or so. Well, it's been two days and we- I haven't heard from her.'

Renji stands up and Momo follows his example. 'Well, we had better get back and report this information. Thanks, Ichigo.'

When they have left, Ichigo walks over to the stairs to find another typical sight around the house these days- a war between Hollow Ichigo and Kon. The two plushies are fighting on the steps, shooting angry whispers at each other.

'Why didn't you or Ichigo tell me poor Rukia was in trouble, you jerk?!'

'Oh, will you shut the hell up for once?!'

'Knock it off you two. You're lucky they didn't hear you,' Ichigo mutters, wrenching the two plushies apart with his hands.

'What's happened to Rukia?!' Kon demands.

'Nothing bad, probably. We're not sure yet,' Ichigo replies with a roll of his eyes.

'Is she in the Soul Society?' Hollow Ichigo asks.

Ichigo winces, frustrated. 'They don't know. We could go and investigate.'

Kon's head shoots up hopefully. 'We?'

'Not you,' Ichigo snaps, picturing how much of a disaster that would be.

'Me?' Hollow Ichigo says. 'That's a bit risky, isn't it? I mean sure, I'll do it, but-'

'No, you had better stay here too,' Ichigo says, cutting across him. 'This could get dangerous and if they find out you're alive... no, I meant me and maybe Uryu, Chad and Orihime.'

'I wanna come too!' Kon whines. 'Poor Rukia~...'

'I don't even know if I'm going yet,' Ichigo says with a sigh. 'In any case, Rukia wouldn't leave her friends worrying like this. Something has definitely happened.'


	3. Chapter 3

**Three**

The next time Rukia opens her eyes, she tries to work out how much time has passed.

Surely someone has noticed her disappearance? How come Byakuya, Renji, Ukitake and Momo haven't come looking for her? And Ichigo and Hollow Ichigo must be worried. Someone has to come and rescue her...

When Rukia regains consciousness again, she finds herself out of the aquarium and strapped to the table in Kurotsuchi's private lab, the very one she once found Ichigo being experimented on. She strugges slightly but the bonds are very tight and it gets her nowhere. Out of the corner of her vision she can see Nemu approaching, and once again she is carrying a syringe. The sharpness of the needle does not disturb the petite Kuchiki because she has been stabbed before in battles and she is getting pretty used to Kurotsuchi and Nemu jabbing needles into her arm. She takes into account that this particular liquid is an extremely dark crimson, practically black.

'What is that?' she croaks.

'Hollow blood,' comes the reply. Rukia cringes as the needle comes closer.

'Why are you...?' she trails off as the needle comes closer. She feels the familiar bruising sensation coupled with the slight prickling as the needle penetrates her skin. She closes her eyes, not from pain, but rather dread. Why put Hollow blood inside her? What will it accomplish?

'Engaging Test Twenty-three,' Nemu announces, and Kurotsuchi begins to type excitedly on his computer.

'When my brother finds out about this you'll be in so much trouble, _Captain_,' Rukia spits.

'The same brother that stood by as you were sentenced to death,' Kurotsuchi shoots back without looking up. Rukia bites her lip.

'Why am I still here? What the hell do you want from me?!'

'You have interesting results from the brain scan,' Kurotsuchi replies. 'The last twenty-two tests have proved nothing as far as I'm aware, but I will get results soon. And once that's through, I suppose I'll have to release you. We'll say you got a serious wound from a Hollow or something and there wasn't enough time to get you to Squad Four.'

'Nobody will ever believe that,' Rukia growls.

'We'll see.'

Rukia closes her eyes again, praying for it to be over. Slowly, her consciousness slips and she enters the dark world of sleep. Kurotsuchi quietly thanks her for shutting up. He begins to type up the immediate reaction to the Hollow blood.

_Subject appears to show no immediate response to Test 43 [Blood Sample No. 12.0036]. Will await further reactions if existent._

'Nemu!' Kurotsuchi barks. 'Watch the subject!'

'Yes, Sir.' Nemu stands as still as a statue, watching the unconscious form of Rukia on the experimenting table.

Kurotsuchi clicks on another document and begins to scroll down the different blood type information he has stored on his computer. All blood between the numbers 12 and 13 are different samples of blood from the various Hollows Kurotsuchi has experimented on over the years. He clicks on another one (_Blood Sample No. 12.0044_) and grins as he stares at the data on the screen.

'Leave her,' he tells Nemu without out looking over at the two lieutenants. 'She's obviously not going to be reacting any time soon. I've had a new idea...' he trails of, a crazed look appearing in his yellow eyes. 'Yes, I think I'll give it a go,' he adds. 'After all, nothing else is working. Besides, this could certainly come in use later... especially if it's still alive... Nemu, fetch me Vial 23710 in the Cabinet Four. I've been waiting for a chance to use that particular one on an intelligent creature! And bring me Blood Sample 12.0044!'

When Nemu has given him the two things he requested, Kurotsuchi gets up from his computer and strides over to Rukia, wanting to perform the most promising experiment himself.

'Nemu... type 'Engaging Test Twenty-four'.'

'Yes, Master Mayuri.'

Kurotsuchi stares at the dark crimson liquid in the vial and then stares at the white liquid in the other vial, grinning in anticipation. He transfers the blood into a syringe, somehow convinced that this new sample will prove far more effective than the last one. After all, this particular sample, 12.0044, is a very special blood type. He quickly injects it into Rukia's left arm and then applies a large measurable quantity of the white liquid straight after, believing that if they do not react together and produce the result he desires, he'll mix them together before they enter her bloodstream next time. Of course, that will be Test Twenty-five.

Much to his delight, Rukia's body begins to shudder violently as the blood and the mixture Kurotsuchi created react inside of her. He immediately yells instructions for Nemu to type up everything that is happening, overjoyed that a test is finally having the desired effect on his victim- sorry, patient.

A dark, angry spiritual pressure begins to build up in Rukia, snappy and in want of release. By now Kurotsuchi is ecstatic and is cackling madly in excitement.

Rukia opens her mouth, her eyes snapping open too- and screams.

'Subject appears to be suffering!' Kurotsuchi beams, glancing at his lieutenant. 'Are you getting all of this down, Nemu?!'

'Yes, Master Mayuri,' Nemu replies, emotionless, as her fingers fly over the keyboard at an alarming, inhuman speed that only one of Kurotsuchi's creation could manage.

'Perfect, perfect!' Kurotsuchi giggles as Rukia's body shudders with convulsions. Kurotsuchi quickly flashsteps over to the large computer taking up a large amount of a wall, switching the webcam on so he can record it. He sees himself appear on the screen, grinning eagerly at the camera, then his expression turns surprised as he sees on the screen the figure behind him on the table rise, breaking free of his bonds. He spins around to be greeted with a rather familiar red weapon being clutched in the hands of the peite Kuchiki. He has one moment to contemplate a strange sense of déjà vu and then everything goes black.

Rukia shimmers with a darkish purple spiritual pressure as she leaps away from the fallen captain, grinning slightly as she witnesses a rare moment of emotion coming from Nemu Kurotsuchi as she races towards her 'father', screaming, 'MASTER MAYURI!'

The lieutenant of Squad Twelve reaches her captain and kneels down, bringing his head onto her lap protectively. 'What have you done to him?!' she cries up at Rukia.

Rukia's smile vanishes and she seems bewildered for a moment. 'I- I'm not sure,' she begins, staring down at the weapon in her hands, briefly wondering how it magically appeared. She has the strangest feeling that she should recognise it. It's not a sword. She can feel the spirit energy of any zanpakutô she knows. It must be in release form, because there's no way this is an ordinary katana.

It's a scythe.

The weapon is large with an intricate design on the edge of the staff, and the blade of the scythe itself is double-edged and crimson. Rukia stares at it in disbelief, wondering how the hell she managed to obtain it. This is brief, however, because she feels as if her consciousness is slipping, as if something is pulling her back into the darkness with open arms. Rukia fights to stay awake, wondering what the hell's coming over her. She blinks tiredly, then realises that Kurotsuchi being unconscious is definitely her getaway. She races over to the door, stumbling a little in her exhaustion. She has to get away from the Soul Society... she's not sure what's going on but something inside her tells her that staying in this dimension is a very bad idea, and that this will only cause more problems. She needs to get back to the World of the Living, to Ichigo and his Hollow. They'll help her.

They'll know what to do.


	4. Chapter 4

**High guys! I'm baaaack~**

**(Yes, I am hyper)**

**Please review!**

* * *

**Three**

'That bastard did what?!' Hollow Ichigo hisses.

It's taken him and Ichigo exactly three days to find out what happened to Rukia. To discover how it came to this, we have to start at the very beginning.

Poor Nemu Kurotsuchi had to call an emergency meeting with the captains to inform them exactly what had happened. So now, as soon as Captain Kurotsuchi has recovered from a rather familiar case of amnesia (not familiar for him, as he doesn't remember anything), he's to be locked up for quite a while for imprisoning and experimenting on Lieutenant Rukia Kuchiki of Squad Thirteen.

This matter was strictly between the Nemu and the captains. So, naturally, word broke out anyway, through a certain captain who had a little too much to drink. And that captain may have accidently blabbed to a lieutenant who is also known from breaking out on the sake. And that lieutenant might have told another anxious lieutenant who immediately informed the two friends she went to the Shino Academy with, and one of those particular friends who has known Rukia the longest may have just gone to inform Ichigo of exactly what has happened.

'Well, basically, Nemu told the capatains, and Kyoraku told Rangiku, who then told-'

'Yeah, I get the gist of it,' the Hollow says impatiently. 'Where exactly is Rukia now?'

'She's recovering in Squad Four,' Ichigo replies. Renji has only just left after having told Ichigo the news about Rukia. 'Apparently she hasn't woken up yet but Captain Unohana has reassured everyone that her condition isn't life threatening.'

'Good to know,' the Hollow says, both him and Ichigo still feeling extremely nervous about what Kurotsuchi may have done to Rukia. She has been asleep for a while and people are beginning to wonder if she'll stay in a coma for the rest of her life.

'Why would that jerk want to keep Rukia locked up?!' Kon says angrily. 'What did he do to her?!'

'We don't know,' Ichigo replies, collapsing on his bed with an extremely stressed look on his face. 'She is the Soul Reaper who lent me her powers. Maybe he thought there would be something interesting about her.'

The two plushies, both sitting on the desk, stare down at Ichigo. 'He must have found whatever he was loofong for if he kept her locked up for so long,' Hollow Ichigo points out.

'That's what I'm afraid of,' Ichigo replies quietly. The Hollow is so distracted by recent events that he doesn't even bother to point out that he and Ichigo obviously have the same train of thought, given that they have the same brain.

* * *

Captain Unohana doesn't to believe the evidence.

As she stares down at the petite patient, she can hardly believe that a girl so innocent-looking in sleep can have Hollow blood inside her. But the evidence is all there. The scans have come up positive. The spiritual pressure alone is enough proof. Rukia Kuchiki has Hollow blood running through her veins, mixing with her own pure blood, and Captain Unohana is afraid of what his will mean for the poor girl. She doesn't know how she will break this to Captain Kuchiki, Lieutenant Abarai and Ichigo Kurosaki. This twisted spiritual pressure inside the small lieutenant is well hidden, but a for a captain like Unohana with exceptional skills, she can just make it out.

And there everyone was, thinking that this particular problem was over.

* * *

When Rukia finally does wake up, it's late at night, and she realises pretty quickly where she is, because it's not where she wants to be.

Groaning in frustration, Rukia quietly gets out of the medic bed, trying not to let her spiritual pressure flare up as a sign of her having woken up. She was really hoping she could have made it at least out of the Soul Society. Rukia is terribly aware of what may have happened to her. She doesn't want to have to face this cold, harsh reality, but if anyone can help her, it's Ichigo and his Hollow.

She manages to make it outside the Squad Four barracks, her head swaying slightly. She begins to wonder how long she's been unconscious. Then she tries to work out how long she was locked up in Kurotsuchi's lab. It's worrying that she has no idea for both the questions.

'You shouldn't be going anywhere.'

Renji's walking along the path towards her, with every intention of coming to visit her unconscious form until he realises she is awake and leaving the Squad Four barracks.

'Renji. What do you want?' she asks, it coming out a little rougher than she intended.

'What the hell happened to you?' he asks with a nervous laugh. 'Kurotsuchi's been locked up! What did he do to you?'

'The crazy stuff he usually does.'

'You mean he injected weird liquids into you?' Renji seems really nervous now. 'Oh crap… Rukia, are you okay?'

'I'm fine, but I need to go back to the World of the Living,' she replies, deciding to at least tell Renji that.

'If you're concerned about Ichigo being worried about you, I told him you were safe earlier. He knows you're okay… but are you okay?' he repeats.

'I told you, I'm fine. Whatever Kurotsuchi was planning, it didn't work,' Rukia says, realising that this will only be the beginning of the lies. Because she's not okay, and she knows Kurotsuchi's plan_ did_ work, or at least, something did become of it. And she really needs help, but not from the Soul Society. She needs to get back to the Kurosaki Clinic _now_.

'I have to go,' she says quietly.

'You should stay here. Captain Unohana hasn't finished making sure you're safe to leave.'

'Don't worry,' Rukia replies coolly. 'If I have got anything, I expect it's not contagious.'

'That's not what I'm worried about!'

If the Soul Reapers don't want her to leave, then they should learn not to leave her zanpakutô leaning up against her wall beside her bed. She draws it and opens a senkaimon, ignoring Renji's incredulous look.

'You're gonna get into a lot of trouble.'

'I'm Rukia Kuchiki. Haven't you noticed that ever since I met Ichigo, I've kind of worked in the trouble department?'

'Let me come with you. Something might happen.'

'Renji, please,' she says with an exasperated sigh. 'You told me Kurotsuchi's been locked up. He's not going to capture me again.' _And even if he does, I am now well protected. That's certainly one way of looking at it._

'And what do I tell your brother?'

'He'll understand. If I hadn't been captured, I would have come back to the World of the Living by now anyway. I'm supposed to be there.'

'Over keen to see Ichigo again?' he asks with a smirk.

'He's going to be furious with Kurotsuchi,' Rukia says with a smile, knowing that Hollow Ichigo will be as well.

* * *

'Last time I let you out of my sight, midget,' Ichigo says as soon as he's opened his bedroom window for Rukia to jump through.

'Your concern for me is truly appreciated,' Rukia replies sarcastically. She scans the room quickly and spots the cat plushie lying useless (and soulless) on the floor.

'Where's the Hollow?'

'You come back after we've all been worried about you and _that's_ the first question you ask?' Ichigo says, pretending to be irritable, although he is too relieved that Rukia is okay to be properly angry.

She raises her eyebrows at him.

'It's his turn killing Hollows,' Ichigo answers, 'and my turn to do the stupid homework.' He motions wearily to a pile of papers on his desk.

'Oh, poor you. You're not risking your life,' Kon says, imitating Rukia's sarcasm. This promptly leads Ichigo to shove him in a draw and place a chair in front of it to prevent the lion plushie from escaping.

'Yeah, and you should stay in there for a bit,' Ichigo growls. Kon's even more annoying when he himself is annoyed, and his been pissed off ever since he got 'replaced' by Hollow Ichigo.

'Are you hurt? What did Kurotsuchi do to you?' Ichigo asks quietly.

'I…' Rukia thinks, wondering what to say. There's still a chance (or rather, some vain hope inside of her) that she's wrong about what she thinks has happened to her, and she still has no idea what this means if she is correct. And what to do if she is correct?

'Do you remember those siblings?' she manages to choke out, a great sadness welling inside of her at the thought of the terrible injustice that fell on the two children who were finally given names as they lay dying.

'Which ones?'

'Homura and Shizuku.' It wasn't right. They only wanted to be with their dear Rukia again. That's all they ever wanted.

_'Why did the Soul Reapers have to win?'_

It's as if both Homura and Shizuku are asking that right now inside her, their desperate cries reaching Rukia's ears from beyond the grave.

'What about them?' Ichigo asks gently, his voice seeming very far away.

'I- nothing.' She'll talk to him in the morning. She's tired once more, and all the emotions she's been holding back until now are threatening to spill. 'I need some sleep, Ichigo. I promise I'll explain all I can in the morning.'

Ichigo nods, understanding. Rukia's had a pretty rough time, after all.

* * *

'Three down, one to go,' Hollow Ichigo mutters to himself as the third Adjuchas disappears behind him. He can sense the last Hollow near the dojo, and after that he contemplates yet another day tomorrow where he'll continue with the irregularity of Ichigo's grades (performing brilliantly and then crap on rotation, depending who's in the body). Aside from Ichigo and Rukia, Kisuke and the other people at his shop (Yoruichi, Tessai, Jinta and Ururu) are the only ones who are actually aware he is still alive, only because a few weeks ago he demanded a gigai of his own so he could fight Hollows. The gigai, as promised, takes the form of exactly how he looked in the inner world to those who know he exists, but to any other onlookers he will appear as Ichigo. Ichigo, Rukia and the Hollow are not quite sure how it works (despite the fact that Kisuke gave them a lengthy conversation into the science of it), and apparently his spiritual pressure is also an illusion to those who think he is dead, also appearing as if it belongs to Ichigo. Well, at the end of the day their spiritual pressures weren't extremely different anyway, with the exception of Hollow Ichigo's being a lot darker and (obviously) Hollow-like.

In any case, he enjoys being able to move freely without human or plushie restrictions.

But by the time he gets to the spot where he can sense the Hollow, it's already been dealt with by a familiar figure who he is not pleased at all to see.

'Hiyori,' he says, trying to keep his voice even.

She stands in front of a disintegrating Hollow, her back facing Hollow Ichigo, and she turns around slowly, smirking, still not looking properly at him but instead to the side, her eyes closed with what he can only just work out (from only seeing one side of her face) as a condescending look.

'Looks like I got here before you, huh, Hollow?'

He freezes, staring at her doubtfully. Hollow? Was Kisuke wrong about this gigai after all?

'What are you talking about? I'm Ichigo.'

'Yes, you are. Or were. But I know you're his inner Hollow. Without the actual 'inner' part.'

He stares at her, growing increasingly worried. As far as he's aware, Ichigo and Rukia haven't visited the Vizoreds to tell them the truth about their inner Hollows yet, so she shouldn't know that he's still alive.

She turns around to face him properly, the half of a Hollow mask now visibly clear on the side of her face he couldn't see before.

'You really think I can't sense another one of my kind, idiot?' Hollow Hiyori says, her smirk growing bigger.

Hollow Ichigo relaxes, which is a bad idea whether it's concerning him or Ichigo, and Hiyori or her inner Hollow. No matter which two of the four are involved, the outcome is always the same.

She hits him as hard as she can with her sandal, naturally.

'WHAT THE HELL?!' he snaps, leaping out of the way after being hit about five or six times repeatedly. 'You're even worse than the other Hiyori!'

'_You're_ even more annoying than Ichigo, what's your point?' she grins.

He sighs. 'How did you take control?'

She laughs. 'No idea, but it's feeling pretty good.'

He frowns. 'What?'

Hollow Hiyori sends him a mocking look. 'Oh, you wanna hear the whole story? Okay, so Hiyori was asleep, which always makes it easier for an inner Hollow to take control, right? Anyway, her spiritual pressure dropped really suddenly and mine rose, and her control slipped and… violà.'

'Yeah, and at any point did the other Vizoreds realise what had happened?' Hollow Ichigo asks, aware that they could come at any minute and discover two inner Hollows instead of just one. Which wouldn't be good.

'If they knew what had happened, they'd be here by now. I've had control for, like, two hours already. It's great, the amount of things you can do in two hours that you've missed doing over the last century.'

'Anyone dead? 'Cause I'm not taking the blame.'

'Unless you count Hollows, no. Seriously tempting, given that I hate humans, but I've been behaving myself.'

'Right.'

'So it looks like your clever li'l plan worked, after all,' she muses. 'You're one lucky Hollow. Me and the other inner Hollows were all wondering if you're some sort of freak of nature or something. You're nothing like us at all.'

'You're all spineless,' Hollow Ichigo scoffs. 'You'd all given up when I saw you last.'

She winces, his words finally having an impact on her. 'How many times do we have to tell you that there is a difference between three years and a hundred years? You'd have given up too after all that time.'

'I've told Ichigo and Rukia to visit the Vizoreds and explain the truth about us,' Hollow Ichigo continues. 'I seriously recommend none of you going to Kurotsuchi to get you and the others released. Maybe Kisuke can do something.'

'Whoa, you mean we're gonna get out of here?' Hollow Hiyori asks, her eyes wide.

'Hopefully, if you're lucky. You've still got the Soul Society to worry about. If they didn't like me, how do you think they're gonna react to eight other inner Hollows?'

He gets hit with the sandal again.

'Stupid baldy. The Vizoreds are outcasts so we will be too. We can probably all live with that,' she says matter-of-factly.

'Some of them are captains now,' he mutters, rubbing his stinging cheek.

At that moment, they sense the spiritual pressure of the Vizoreds in the warehouse rise, probably as they all realise something's wrong. Both Hollows sigh, realising that this is going to be the end of their conversation.

'One last thing- you can see me, right? As in, pale white all over?' Hollow Ichigo asks.

She raises one eyebrow. 'Uh, yeah. Bit stupid, isn't it? I mean, it's like you're trying to get noticed.'

'Actually, only people who are expecting to see me and not the other Ichigo should be able to see me, according to Kisuke,' Hollow Ichigo says helpfully.

'He's one lab accident away from being a crazy evil mastermind,' Hollow Hiyori mutters.

* * *

'Where have you been all this time?' Ichigo asks as Hollow Ichigo arrives back through the window. 'Rukia's phone thingy said the last Hollow died over half-an-hour ago. What were you doing?'

'Worried?' the Hollow taunts. Ichigo gives him a sceptical look. 'Okay, fine. I was talking with Hiyori's inner Hollow.'

'You- you… what?!'

'Yeah, she got this random burst of power and was able to take over while Hiyori was asleep. When are you and Rukia gonna go to the Vizoreds and tell them the truth?'

'Talking of Rukia,' Ichigo says, 'come over here.'

The two walk over to the cupboard, and Ichigo, bracing himself for a fifty percent chance of getting kicked (one hundred if she's still awake), slides open the door to find Rukia sound asleep.

'Surprise,' Ichigo says with a grin to his Hollow.

'When did she come back?'

'About an hour ago. She said she'd explain everything in the morning, but she looked pretty worn out. Physically, she looks fine.'

'Well, apart from probable needle marks on her,' Hollow Ichigo muses, but neither he nor Ichigo have the guts to roll up Rukia's sleeves to have a look, in case the apocalypse comes and Rukia wakes up.

* * *

'_We… want them dead. Every last one of them.'_

Rukia winces in the complete darkness at the sound of Homura and Shizuku's combined angry voices. She's never really sure what to make of dreams where there's just a pitch black void. Because often, what's lacking visually is made up for with sound. And now, it seems, their merged voices are all that's to be heard.

'_Please, Rukia. Don't ever leave us. We went through so much… just to be with you again.'_

'I know,' Rukia answers tearfully. 'I know.'

* * *

**BAI BAI~!**

**(Seriously, though, I really really really really really want reviews!)**


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